The perfect gift for a Czech wedding? Raise a glass to tradition

Whether you’ve attended a Czech wedding or not, you probably know that the festivities include a number of lively traditions such as kidnapping the bride, smashing a glass plate for luck, or the customary sharing of soup by bride and groom.

What you might not know is how to shop for the perfect wedding gift for the happy couple – as gift-giving etiquette in the Czech Republic tends to vary a bit from what you might be used to elsewhere.

For years, Czech crystal company Moser has been crafting elegant wedding gifts and tableware not only for Czech weddings but for some of the most high-profile nuptial celebrations in the world (including royal weddings in Spain and Copenhagen and the Diamond Wedding celebration of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip).

We asked Barbora Vondalová, a spokesperson for the Czech glass company how to select a truly memorable present for the bride and groom.

“It’s not very common here to use a gift registry,” says Vondalová. “But people are slowly learning to communicate what they’d like as gifts, and more and more often couples are putting those requests right on the invitation,” she says.

In a recent poll of pre-nuptial Czech couples, the ideal wedding gift isn’t a gift at all but money which is the top choice to both receive and give. Monetary gifts frequently come in the form of vouchers for experiences such as couples’ massages or gift cards.

When it comes to actual gifts, though, what do couples typically prefer? Vondalová says that housewares and decorative mementos are customary.

Given the history of glass artistry in the Czech lands, it’s no surprise that crystal has a special place in the Czech wedding tradition – and personalization is also an important part of the tradition.

“Many couples receive a nice bottle of Champagne with monogrammed glasses,” says Vondalová. 

Moser offers a number of gorgeous glass creations by acclaimed designers, both decorated drinkware that’s perfect for toasting as well as vases, and other decorative objects sure to make unforgettable glass gifts that will be cherished for years to come.

The company also recently launched, in response to the rising demand for custom wedding gifts, a unique glass configurator that lets customers design their own glass gift entirely online.

The configurator platform allows customers to create monograms or motifs on glass sets or customize a vase by adding a motif or the color of their choice. Moser’s artisans then blow and adorn the glass by hand according to the customer’s wishes.

Vondalová believes that such services are at the forefront of wedding-gift trends in the Czech Republic while social shifts make it even easier to please the bride and groom.

“The fact that young people often live in already furnished homes is actually an advantage when picking out their wedding gift. You can give them something extraordinary that will hold its value, such as a hand-cut crystal work of art,” says Vondalová. 

In the end, a custom creation further expresses the greatest wedding gifts: love, family togetherness, and tradition.